I gulp. Did I hear her correctly? New toy? That's an odd term for someone you want to be allied with. How can she expect me to take her seriously if she uses language like that?

She even said I was a valuable asset earlier. Now I don't know what to think. Was she lying when she spoke to me earlier? Is a toy all I am to her? Is she going to treat me like Nyx did the Laser Fighter?

Persephone seems to look down at us. Though I couldn't honestly say if she's looking directly at me, considering her eyes are hidden behind her pink veil of some sort. I quickly look back down in case her hands are closing in on us – which they are.

Her hands, placed either side of her legs, are slowly sliding towards us. As they do, Persephone begins to lean further forward. She cocks her head to the left too, and my heart rate increases even more as the tension rises.

"No need to be so scared Hercules," she says, trying to reassure me.

"B-but you destroyed my fighter," I stammer in response.

A tear rolls down my cheek. Why can't she hurry up and just kill me already? It's obvious Persephone and Nyx don't really value my company.

Persephone leans back and moves one hand to adjust her veil ever so slightly. She pulls it up a bit and brushes some of her hair from underneath it. Her other hand remains dangerously close to me.

"You have to believe me when I say I didn't want to do that. If I said no, Nyx would get suspicious. She's done it before to Wayne's ship, when he arrived."

Well I guess it makes sense that she would not want to put doubt in Nyx's mind. But couldn't Nyx have just as easily done the filming all by herself? She could have put the camera on a table or something.

And she knows about Wayne too, so he must be pretty important. Perhaps I can find out some more information about him through her. By the sound of things, Wayne probably did arrive willingly and might not have been captured. That answers that question. But why did he go to the giantesses in the first place?

"Yeah, that's right," Althea chimes in, "She wouldn't do that on purpose. My mum really likes you."

Did she just call Persephone her mum? And claim that Persephone really likes me? What on Mars is going on? This is ridiculous.

I won't accept it! Persephone is not Althea's mother and she does not have a romantic interest in me! Both statements are just too crazy. Persephone is an Angel, and we're both humans. Why would she fraternize with unworthy humans like us? It doesn't make any sense.

"How about you go back to playing with my servants now sweetie?" she says, possibly through gritted teeth, clearly trying to hide her annoyance at the situation.

"Awh, but mum," Althea whines, "I wanted to play with Hercules too."

Persephone's hand comes down to meet Althea. She uses her forefinger to stroke her cheek, causing her to become even more frustrated at the situation. She attempts to push Persephone's hand away with her own, but to no avail.

"Maybe later, if you're a good girl," Persephone says as she retracts her hand.

"Fine," Althea huffs, "I'll go hang out with your servants for a bit."

"Good girl. You can talk to Hercules over dinner later. Mummy has lots of important things she needs to discuss."

Althea stomps over into the lift and, as soon as she has disappeared, Persephone's hands close in on me. Her right hand comes in first and knocks me over, into her waiting palm. Then her left hand encases me in darkness so that I can't escape.

All of a sudden I feel rather queasy, as if I've just got on a roller coaster. Why isn't Persephone being more careful with me? Oh gosh, I think I'm going to be sick...

After being whizzed through the air, Persephone's hands open up and I'm dropped into her lap – between her two calf muscles. As I look around, I realize we are no longer on the floor and she is sitting crossed legged on her bed. Like almost everything else on her flagship, the covers of her bed are bright pink – though this pink is softer than on the walls.

She places her arms on her knees, extending them either side of me, and leans in closer to me. Above me, part of her mouth comes into view as her veil dangles across from her chin. Not sure if I like that grin of hers. It could spell trouble.

Even though she doesn't seem as bad as I thought she was, I don't know if I feel comfortable being this close to her. She is nice I suppose. But even Adolf Hitler seemed nice at first, and we all know how that turned out...

"What do you think of my spaceship Hercules?" Persephone breathes, her voice returning to its lust filled state.

I try to make myself comfortable in her lap and also opt to sit crossed legged. I lean back against her legs, though I place my hands in my lap and let my head sink into the soft, smooth, skin of her calves. If she wasn't my enemy, I'd probably think I was in heaven.

"Oh-w, Hercules, that tickles, stop it," she says with a giggle, allowing me to see more of her mouth as she does so.

While I finish making myself comfortable, perhaps now realizing that looking down at the human in her lap from her current position may reveal more of her face than she'd like, she leans back against the wall behind her. Crucially though, she seems to keep her eyes fixed on me. In the moment of silence she also adjusts her veil again slightly, in order to make sure her face remains completely hidden from me.

"Sorry Persephone; just making myself comfortable. Your flagship is, um..."

"I'm not Nyx, I'm not going to punish you if you don't agree with me."

"That's good to know. It's very pretty by the way."

Persephone giggles again. Both of her hands then move from her calves up to her breasts. Once there, they begin to grope them. I start to feel rather uneasy at the sight and wonder how long it will take for me to become fully erect.

"Being a mum has made me all too aware that rewards are more effective than punishments. And these two ladies are definitely looking forward to rewarding you, Hercules, aren't you girls? Mm, that's right."

"Yeah, about you being a mum..."

Gosh, this is so incredibility awkward. If Maxine saw me right now she'd give me a slap. I can't allow Persephone to control me like this, not this easily anyway, as much as I appreciate her breasts.

"Mmm, go on?"

"Althea is a lovely young lady. You've raised her really well. How old is she?"

"Thank you Hercules, I try. She can be a handful though. One of my servants is a medical doctor and she thinks she's about seventeen Earth years old – something like that. Do you have any children of your own?"

About seventeen Earth years old? What mother doesn't know the age of her child? I hope she hasn't brainwashed Althea into thinking that she's her mother!

"No, but my girlfriend and I have talked about starting a family together."

"I see."

Persephone stops groping her breasts and moves one of her hands up to her veil. She slips her forefinger underneath the pink fabric, and it looks as if she has started biting her nail. Then it finally dawns on me. Althea was right. Persephone does really like me.

Her hand swoops down from underneath her veil to pluck me from her lap. Her thumb and forefinger curl around my body, prying me away from her lap. However, despite her haste, she somehow manages not to be as rough as earlier. She brings me up to her chest and pushes me into her generous cleavage.

Oh crap! I'm so conflicted. Persephone is nice, but I have Maxine. But Persephone's breasts...no! I can't let lustful thoughts get the better of me!

"W-what are you doing?" I ask, trying desperately to avoid becoming fully erect.

My face awkwardly brushes against her breast and I sense strange smell. I don't think it's perfume. In fact, I'm not quite sure what it is. And being in here is somehow making me become limp. I feel like I'm slowly losing control of my muscles.

"Comfortable?"

"No, I mean yes. No, I mean no. I was fine in your lap..."

I start to blush profusely as I struggle to stay afloat. Why am I wilting all of a sudden? I think something must be up with Persephone's body, and it's causing strange things to happen to my own.

Even with that thick veil covering the entirety of her face, I can tell she is really enjoying tormenting me. She must cause all of the men on her flagship. to go crazy. Gosh, I never thought I'd get this intimate with an Angel.

"So you're not comfortable?" Persephone asks, a touch of sadness creeping into her voice.

"I am, but..."

"Good. We can continue our important chat then."

"W-wait, I'm sinking...!"

I try to hold onto the tops of her breasts, but it's no use. Her skin is just too soft and smooth and my muscles have become too weak to do anything. Who knew heaven could be so much like hell?

Persephone squeezes her breasts together using her arms, causing all of the air to be forced out of my lungs. Her hand then reaches in to yank me by the collar of my t-shirt. I'm laid to rest on her chest, just below her neck, were I spend several seconds catching my breath.

"Better?" she asks, only now releasing her breasts.

"Better," I pant.

"Good. Let's discuss your mission. I'm sure you must be wondering why Nyx didn't have you killed. Correct?"

"That is correct."

"Like I said before, you're valuable Hercules. Nyx and I have overheard some of the pilots we have reclaimed speaking fondly of you. And Wayne knew about you too. We hear a lot of human conversation. Like how you single-handedly defended a human outpost from a band of pirates..."

"Wait – you know about that?"

"Angels know lots of things. We're not stupid like you humans. Dispute that fact at your peril."

Persephone's hand moves on top of me, blocking out all of the light. She pushes me against her chest and, afraid she might just suffocate me, I begin to squirm desperately. When I do, she lifts her hand.

"Ah! Okay, okay, I get it. You're exceedingly smart," I say, now sweating profusely, "But why would you work with Nyx if you don't like her?"

"There was a time when Nyx and I were best friends, but we're slowly drifting apart. The death of the Angel Nike didn't just affect Eris. Nyx started to go crazy too. Nyx began to doubt Eris's leadership – becoming power hungry herself. She's a massive hypocrite!"

"Nyx doesn't seem as nice as I first thought, so I think I can agree with you."

"Has Nyx told you what she wants from Eris?"

"No, please explain."

"Towards the middle of this star system is the most beautiful planet imaginable. But only Eris is allowed anywhere near it. Nyx wants that planet all to herself."

"What does it look like?"

"It's hard to describe. From what I've seen, it's very shiny. But, before we even think about that, there's another task we need you to do. I'll explain that later. Right now you need a bath, and I need to talk to Nyx again."

"But I had a shower just this morning."

"You need a bath. I'll call up one of my servants to assist you. Later on we'll have dinner together with Althea."

Best not to argue with her; especially if I want her to canoodle with me again. Wait, what am I thinking? I have a girlfriend!

Persephone rests one of her hands on top of me again. I feel her body move about abruptly under my own, suggesting she is getting up from her bed. As she does so, I begin to feel queasy again.

She pulls me from her bosom and deposits on the floor below her knees. Too weak to stay standing, I collapse onto the fabric. Ow! What on Mars has she done to me? Why am I so weak all of a sudden?

I stretch my head up and I stare up at the stomach of the kneeling giantess. I really want to say something, but I can't just accuse her. She might not even be the reason why I'm suddenly feeling so weak.

Realizing I'm staring blankly at her, she makes shooing motions with her hand. Knowing I'm no longer wanted, I try to get up – but it's no use. Something strange has happened to my muscles.

"Wait by the lift," she commands as she gets up.

She walks off towards a monitor located at the end of the bed. From my perspective, laying on the floor beside the lift lobby, it's hard to tell what she's doing. But I can see she has a nice big bum,
which compliments her nice big breasts, at least.

I shift my body across the floor and manage to make a one-hundred-and-eighty degree turn. Slowly, I shuffle, crawling awkwardly, across the floor to the lift area, located directly behind me. When I reach the doorway, I find the strength to upgrade to a crawl.

Should Persephone have romantic feelings for me though? She is an Angel and I'm a human. I doubt we are genetically related in spite of our many physical similarities.

"Lyra, come up into my bedroom," Persephone says in an authoritative tone, "Hercules, my guest, needs to be shown to the human area. He needs a bath."

"To be allowed into your bedroom...he must be very special then," I hear Lyra say.

"He is. Which is why anybody found to be hurting him will become part of my dinner. Hercules will be waiting for you by the lift to my bedroom."

I shuffle closer to the doorway in an effort to better listen to the conversation. Did I hear correctly? Persephone eats humans? What on Mars? Just when I thought things were looking up for me, Persephone reveals she eats humans.

My heart starts to race again – at the thought of Persephone eating humans. I wonder if she cooks them first? I know she wouldn't eat me...would she?

That must be the worst way to die. Well, I guess that settles it. The Angels are not human. How can they be? Would a human eat another human?

Persephone kneels in front of the door to the lift lobby again, snapping me out of my thoughts. I've been so preoccupied thinking about her diet that I didn't notice her approach me. Her forefinger reaches in, through the doorway, causing me to flinch.

I try to nudge her finger away with my body, however she doesn't give up. The ceiling of the lobby suddenly becomes transparent, making more of her body visible to me. This also affords her a clear view of me, and more forefinger enters the room, until I'm backed into a corner, by the lift doors.

"I'm not going to eat you, if that's what you're worried about," she coos, "Only Eris needlessly eats humans. So many valuable humans have been wasted because of her. Like I said before, I get left with the scraps, so it's been quite lonely. I don't have many nice humans for company."

Her finger reaches up to caress me on the cheek. Her stroking motion is amazingly tender given how huge she is. She must have had lots of practise, being a mother and all.

"How many humans live on your flagship?"

"I don't know. I get left with a lot of the nasty ones. Worthwhile humans, like you, are maybe a couple of dozen. Would you like to try some boiled human for your dinner, Hercules? It's really nice."

"What? N-no thank you. I'm fine."

She removes her finger from the room and, as soon as she does, the ceiling turns back to being opaque. I hope I haven't offended her with that brash response. I didn't mean to be rude; eating humans is just too crazy for me.

"Oh. Okay then," she says, sounding a bit deflated, "Lyra will be up here to collect you any minute now. I'll start cooking in about one Earth hour."

Persephone gets up again and disappears off into another room, her thuds causing tremors in the floor, leaving me to wait in silence. As she predicted, after a couple of minutes, Lyra arrives. Like Althea before her, she has long straight hair, although hers is brown and only extends to her shoulders.

Like me, she is wearing a plain long sleeved t-shirt and trousers, except hers are white. Both are skin tight. Underneath her clothes, her underwear, a bra and thong, is clearly visible.

"Hello, you must be Hercules," she says with a smile.

"That's what Persephone keeps calling me anyway," I reply, forcing a smile of my own.

"Why are you crawling?"

"My muscles felt so weak; I couldn't stand up."

"Let me help you."

She moves so that she is directly in front of me and her hands pull me up from my shoulders. I help her out by getting onto my feet. Once upright, I dust myself off.

"And, by the way, I don't need a bath yet, I had a shower as soon as I got up."

"Are you sure? How can you not notice the smell?"

"What smell?"

"Persephone has bathed you in her pheromones..."

"I'm sorry, but what are pheromones?"

Her smile disappears and she looks at me with what seems like mixture of confusion and amusement. She must think I'm really stupid. Why doesn't she want to speak in plain Galactic Standard English?

"Long story short, Persephone really wants you."

I don't want to give up on Maxine, but if Persephone likes me as much as Lyra is implying, then she may not let go of me as easily as she first suggested. Women have always considered me handsome, but never did I think an Angel would develop romantic feelings for me. I'm sure she wouldn't allow just anyone into her breasts like that.

"Pardon? So you mean Persephone is sexually interested in me?"

"I guess you could say that. I'll explain more on our way down."